Life hands us so many different things to deal with, both good and bad. I still remember the day I learned that even the good things count as stressful, the day I discovered the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory. At the time, my score was dramatically high, due to a combination of life events, some of which are typically considered joyful and others of which are typically considered difficult or stressful.
Life is like that: It changes. And we have to change with it. Even if those changes are positive, they’re still changes.
When I saw this morning’s cards, I was reminded of the seesaw balance of the way life works most of the time. Not huge waves of change, but minor shifts that require us to adjust our footing a little, as if we’re standing on the deck of a boat in gentle - but not completely still - waters.
A lot of the time, we make these adjustments without even thinking about it. It’s just part of life: dealing with what’s in front of us, handling situations that turn out to be different from what we expected - and sometimes that difference is a delightful one. But it’s still a difference.
This week’s cards suggest a couple of gentle adjustments, both of them involving accepting things as they are. There’s no question that the second card indicates a positive change - a gift - but I’m also going to see if I can view the first card, and the situation it indicates during the week, as a gift as well.
Because sometimes, I need to work on skills like restraint and patience. And being offered a low-stakes situation in which to practice those does feel a little like a gift. It’s the opportunity to work on personal growth gently, in the regular flow of life, without deadlines or emergencies. So maybe I’ll be better equipped to deal with the emergencies when they inevitably come around.
How do you deal with the smaller, regular adjustments that life requires? Do you think they help make you better able to deal with the larger changes?
The cards:
Seven of Labryses: It's time to speak softly and be diplomatic, time to compromise and work with what's available. This is going to take some restraint and patience - you may wish the situation was different. But this is how it is for now, so deal with it with as much patience as you can muster, and the outcome will be acceptable.
Six of Horns: An unexpected boon comes your way. This may be a material object or some kind of non-physical bounty or opportunity. Either way, it's a valuable gift, so be sure to express your gratitude and to pay it forward when the opportunity arises.
The Minoan Tarot is an 86-card deck I created, with art I painted by hand. The court cards are gender balanced, and the deck comes with a full-color 176-page companion book. The Minoan Tarot website offers photos of many of the cards as well as more details about the deck. It took me three years to create the artwork for the deck; I hope it offers you a lifetime of enjoyment!